ICT REGULATION AND SOCIAL MEDIA
REGIONAL SG3RG-AFR
Cotonou , Bénin , 8 – 9 May 2012
Makhtar FALL
RME /IEE / BDT
International
Telecommunication
Union
Agenda





Market and Regulatory trends
Broadband Regulatory and tariffs Environment
New media: what makes them social?
Regulation of new media
Future challenges
2
Global ICT developments, 2000 – 2011
3
Broadband Penetration
*Estimates
Source: ITU World Telecommunication/ICT Indicators database
Strong growth in mobile & 3G telephony
7'000
Millions
Global Mobile BB Subscribers
Mobile BB subscribers
3G % mobile
800
700
600
500
400
300
200
100
-
15
11
8
3.2
0.5
5.6
1.7
2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009
16
14
12
10
8
6
4
2
0
Mobile subscribers (total & 3G)
2007-2014
6'000
3G
5'000
4'000
3'413
Other
5'024
4'587
5'567
5'842
6'179
6'456
3'909
3'000
2'000
1'000
0
2007
2008
2009
2010 2011
5 bn total cellular subscribers, 1 bn mobile broadband subscribers in 2010.
6.5 bn total cellular mobile subscribers, of which 43% 3G in 2014.
Source: ITU (left); Morgan Stanley, Ovum (right).
International Telecommunication Union – March 2010
2012
2013
2014
Bandwidth growth
6
Developing countries pay more
ICT price basket, 2008
ICT price basket, 2010
Developed countries
Source: ITU.
Developing countries
Mobile cellular sub-basket
8
Fixed broadband sub-basket
9
Fixed broadband prices are decreasing but are the
still the highest
Sourcee: UIT.
Smartphones
 How fast are smartphones
becoming a primary mobile
access device around the
world?
 Is it fair to forecast that,
given the feature
functionality richness of
smartphones, they are on the
way of becoming a universal
mobile access tool?
 Marked differences across
regions regarding
smartphone diffusion
Source: ITU
Smartphones
 Despite the strong growth,
Mobile broadband enabled phones as proportion of
total mobile installed base, 2015*
100%
90%
80%
70%
60%
50%
40%
30%
20%
10%
0%
Total mobile
Smartphones
only developed countries are
expected to have 70% and
higher smartphone
penetration
 Throughout the developing
world, penetration is not
expected to surpass 40%
 High prices for services are
likely to remain a major
barrier to greater
smartphone adoption
 Regulatory reform must be
pursued to unlock the full
potential of new technologies
& services
Source: ITU
12
The Broadband Challenge
Ambitious but achievable targets
The Broadband Commission has set four clear, new targets for making broadband
policy universal and for boosting affordability and broadband uptake:
Target 1: Making broadband policy universal. By 2015, all countries should have
a national broadband plan or strategy or include broadband in their Universal
Access / Service Definitions.
Target 2: Making broadband affordable. By 2015, entry-level broadband services
should be made affordable in developing countries through adequate regulation
and market forces (amounting to less than 5% of average monthly income).
Target 3: Connecting homes to broadband. By 2015, 40% of households in
developing countries should have Internet access.
Target 4: Getting people online. By 2015, Internet user penetration should reach
60% worldwide, 50% in developing countries and 15% in LDCs.
www.broadbandcommission.org/Documents/Broadband_Targets.pdf
13
Broadband policies and plans
90 governments adopted or are planning to adopt a
national Broadband policy, strategy or plan
New media: what makes them social?
 Interactive, one-to-many or many-to-many








communication
User-generated content
Augmented reality
Beyond time and distance
Accessible through various
platforms (PC, phone, game console)
Helps build skills, create networks
Beyond the primary use, new media
can serve as learning and working tools
Are likely to become the identity system of the web
Are likely to offer new business models
Credits: Vincenzo Cosenzy www.vincos.it
Source: Google Trends for Websites/Alexa
License: CC-BY-NC
Social networks in the world and Web
applications
845 million active
facebook users
More than 2350million
registered users
More than 60
hours of videos
received every
minute on Youtube
Credits: Vincenzo Cosenzy www.vincos.it
Source: Google Trends for Websites/Alexa
License: CC-BY-NC
Regulation of new media
 Policy shift:
 from regulating infrastructure
& services towards regulating content
 from sector-specific towards cross-sector
regulation
 Self-regulation alternatives
No regulation “footprint” in new media for now
To regulate or not to regulate?
Who has jurisdiction over new media?
What balance between “too much” and “too little”
regulation with regard to content?
 New issues: privacy, identity management
 Forward-looking approach is key




Effective Regulation
Effective regulation may include:
 Clear and transparent policies, such as competition
policy, regulatory processes and procedures,
developed based on cooperation, collaboration and
consultation with all ICT stakeholders
 Innovation-oriented regulation, which seeks to
generate market and development opportunities;
 Trans-sector focus to ensure through the application
and removal of regulation that the multiplier effect
of ICT across all sectors are fully realized.
.
Call for new regulatory models
1) Promotion of competition, innovation and growth by
identifying adaptive and targeted regulations, a new
ladder of regulation
2) Need for different degree of regulations (heavy to light
touch)?
3) Next generation regulation to foster access and
adoption of broadband and access to broadband
applications and services for all.
4) Redefining universal access and service to extend
universal service beyond network deployment only,
thus aiming at providing access to the digital world to
all based on sustainable business models (in the area
of, for example, education, e-health and new media.)
Regulatory challenges
1) How to ensure that the benefits of broadband are
2)
3)
4)
5)
6)
available to everyone – reversing the digital divide and
not exacerbating it?
What role do governments have in promoting broadband
connectivity, but also applications and content?
Who should attempt to mitigate the unforeseen aspects of
the Information Society?
How can stakeholders in different countries cooperate to
help guide the development of new media?
What role is there for self-regulation?
How do individuals who are now exposed to, and
experiencing, the Information Society learn to maximize
its benefits while handling the immense power that these
new technologies have unleashed?
ITU Reports
Trends in Telecommunication Reform 2012 : Smart Regulation in a
broadband world

Coming soon!







Setting national broadband policies, strategies and
plans
Open access regulation in the digital economy
Strategies for financing universal broadband access
The regulatory landscape for mobile banking
Broadband Enabled Innovation
Intellectual Property Rights in today’s digital
economy
Confronting The Social Media Regulatory Challenge
e-Waste: whose responsibility?
Broadband Thematic reports in 2012:




22
Regulation of global broadband satellite communications
Exploring the value and economic valuation of spectrum
Understanding the impact of broadband on national and
global economies
Broadband services pricing
www.itu.int/broadband
Futur events
 13th Forum on Telecommunication/ICT




Regulation and Partnership in Africa
(FTRA 2012), Libreville (Gabon), 18 to 20 June
2012
12th Global Symposium for Regulators (GSR),
Colombo, Sri Lanka, 2-4 October 2012;
Third Meeting of ITU-D Study Group 1 :
Enabling environment, cybersecurity, ICT
applications and Internet-related issues, 10-14
September 2012, Switzerland, Geneva ;
ITU- T SG3 meeting, 03-07 Sept 2012,
Moscow (to be confirmed);
The World Conference on International
Telecommunications (WCIT), Dubai, UAE, from
3-14 December 2012.
23
Useful resources
 Global Symposium for Regulators (GSR) 2010:





www.itu.int/gsr10
Trends in Telecommunication Reform 2010/11:
Enabling Tomorow's Digital World
ITU-infoDev ICT Regulation Toolkit:
www.ictregulationtoolkit.org
Broadband Thematic reports in 2012:
www.itu.int/ITU-D/treg/publications/index.html
BDT website: www.itu.int/ITU-D
Broadband Commission for Digital Development
www.broadbandcommission.org